Pope’s Essay on Man: Epistle I (An Outline)

II. Humanity in our place [35-76]

• The foolishness of human presumption of greatness, though created and not creator [35-42]
• Possibility of humans being out of place in the created order [43-5]
  • infinite wisdom, or God, exists
  • in its creation, it forms the best
  • creation formed in increasing degrees of coherency and reason
  • in such a scale, a place must exist for humanity
  • thus humanity is justly placed

III. Humanity’s ignorance and hope allow happiness [77-112]

• Each level of being learns from the one below [77-80]
• Like the lamb, a human must appear foolish in his or her ignorance of the future [81-84]
• Ignorance of the future allows Providence to treat creatures equitably [85-90]
• Hope for the future replaces knowledge of it [91-98]
  • hope as a blessing [91-94]
  • hope as human nature [95-98]
• Hope as universal faculty [99-112]
  • The American Indian lacks Science [99-102]
  • But Nature has given them hope [103-104]
  • Hope gives them a vision of a better world [105-112]

IV. Folly of humanity’s attempt to place a vision of a better world [105-112]

• Humans overstep their bounds, then blame God for their discomfort [113-118]
• Humanity tries to judge God [-119-122]
• Pride is humanity’s downfall [123-130]
  • pride encourages beings to forsake their rightful place [123-124]
  • both humans and angels have tried to assume a greater place [125-128]
  • this upsets the laws of order [129-130]

V. Folly of humanity’s attempt to be the center of creation [131-172]

• Pride causes a person to imagine himself or herself the reason for creation [131-140]
• But one must reconsider that position in the face of natural evil [141-164]
  • reality of natural evil [141-144]
  • in such a case, God acts in general laws [145-146]
  • except in rare cases, when God acts in partial laws [147-148]
  • if Nature is inconsistent, so must be humanity [149-150]
  • evil appears to the inconsistencies of natural laws and thus in the inconsistencies of human passion [151-156]
  • God alone knows why inconsistencies exist [157-160]
  • the need to blame pride and not God, for evil [161-164]

VI. Folly of humanity’s complaints against Providence [173-206]

• A. Humans desire to be more like angels and animals simultaneously [173-188]
  • nature has given out faculties fittingly [179-185]
  • humans alone imagine themselves cheated [186-188]
• B. Humans should be content with their place [189-206]
  • we do not need any other natural faculty [189-200]
  • access to angelic senses would cause us to desire our former ignorance [201-206]

VII. The natural gradations of sensual and mental faculties [207-232]

• Increase in sensual faculties up to humanity [207-224]
• Elements of Reason [225-228]
• How levels of sense give people dominion over animals [229-232]

VIII. The importance of this order of gradations [233-268]

• Extent of this order above, below, and beyond humanity. [233-241]
• How the removal of a single link would destroy the entire Chain of Being [241-246]
• How confusion could commence total destruction [251-256]
• How a single confusion could commence total destruction [251-256]
• How humanity threatens to disrupt natural order [257-258]

IX. The pride of humanity’s desire to upset this order [259-280]

• The foolishness of one part of any attempt to upset order [263-266]
• Taken as an example of the foolishness of any attempt to upset order [263-266]
• How all are part of one whole [267-280]

X. The importance of humanity’s acceptance of their place in the order [281-294]

• A person should submit to his or her own weakness and imperfections [281-285]
• Humanity is in a secure place [285-288]
• Though unknown, all is right [289-294]